Kandiyohi County hires facilitator, begins multi-session strategic planning process

Dave Unmacht, an outside facilitator, outlined a multi-session strategic planning process to the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners on March 25, saying the work will include staff working groups, an all-day April session and a June wrap-up aimed at producing a three-year strategic plan and strengthening board–staff relationships.

Unmacht told commissioners he had met with department heads earlier the same morning and described the plan’s objectives as integrating strategic planning into county culture, producing a three-year plan, and building camaraderie between board and staff. He said the process would include: an April 22 full-day session, a staff deep-dive session, and a final session in June, with a summer presentation of a draft plan for adoption.

Unmacht said the process will be “unique” in returning ownership of vision and mission work to county staff and board members through small working groups, rather than having the facilitator draft final language alone. “We envision creating a couple working groups of people, volunteers of staff and board members to do that, to develop some ideas and bring them back,” he said.

He asked commissioners to respond to six questions included in the meeting packet and to email him their answers; in the meeting he said, “Ideally for me if you could have something back to me by March 14,” and offered one-on-one phone or Zoom conversations for commissioners who wished to elaborate. Unmacht said he will compile and anonymize responses from board and staff for discussion at the April session.

Board members asked how the plan should treat state and federal uncertainties. Unmacht said flexibility and adaptability would be a central theme: “It should be a driving conversation for what we do … because you could have a plan that says this then that happens, we’ve got to adjust and adapt to it.” County staff and commissioners affirmed that relationship-building and staff ownership are important goals.

Administrator Kelsey Baker said the department-head work session that morning had “got everybody talking” and welcomed the staff-ownership element. Commissioner Roger Imdieck was excused from the meeting but will participate in the process, the chair said.

The board did not take any vote on policy at the March 25 meeting; Unmacht’s remarks were an informational briefing to start the facilitated planning sequence.